jbronderbookreviews

Blood on the Bayou (Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn Mystery – 2) by DJ Donaldson

5 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) DJ Donaldson brings us to the famous French Quarter with our favorite dynamic detective duo in this gripping thriller. New Orleans’s chief medical examiner Andy Broussard and his assistant, criminal psychologist Kit Franklyn, set off to investigate a series of violent serial murders. Examinations of the victims have led them to discover that each one’s throat had been ripped out with two tools: a garden fork and something unrecognizable. Something no man could have made, but a myth could have. Could it be that a werewolf has descended upon the city?

The story starts with Andy Broussard getting an early morning call from the police. A body has been found. It looks like the throat has been ripped out. To find the killer, Andy ends up returning to his hometown. Kit Franklyn has been kicking around the idea of quitting and moving to be with her boyfriend. When she meets Teddy she starts to reconsider moving.

It seems that someone is suffering from lycanthropy, being a werewolf. That they are tearing out the throats of their victims. Now Andy and Kit are on a race of time to try and stop the killer before the body count adds up.

I love DJ Donaldson’s Andy Broussard and Kit Franklyn mysteries. I have read several books in the series but not in order. It was a nice treat to see how Kit meets Teddy, he’s one of the characters that I think just adds that little bit to the story. Of course how can you not like Andy? He is obsessed with food, which is shown in his size, and he is almost like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to deduction.

The story is really good and, like with all of the books I have read in this series, I didn’t know who the killer was until at the end. My only complaint would be Kit. She gets herself into trouble with her bad decisions. Although she is Andy’s counter part and smart in her own sense, she just seems to keep falling into situations that she needs to be rescued from. I do get frustrated with her.

If you like mysteries, be sure to check out Blood on the Bayou or the other books in this series.

To purchase Blood on the Bayou or for more information on this series be sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and DJ Donaldson’s website.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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The Asylum by John Harwood

3 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Confused and disoriented, Georgina Ferrars awakens in a small room in Tregannon House, a private asylum in a remote corner of England. She has no memory of the past few weeks. The doctor, Maynard Straker, tells her that she admitted herself under the name Lucy Ashton the day before, then suffered a seizure. When she insists he has mistaken her for someone else, Dr. Straker sends a telegram to her uncle, who replies that Georgina Ferrars is at home with him in London: “Your patient must be an imposter.”

Suddenly her voluntary confinement becomes involuntary. Who is the woman in her uncle’s house? And what has become of her two most precious possessions, a dragonfly pin left to her by her mother and a writing case containing her journal, the only record of those missing weeks? Georgina’s perilous quest to free herself takes us from a cliffside cottage on the Isle of Wight to the secret passages of Tregannon House and into a web of hidden family ties on which her survival depends.

A young lady wakes to find herself in a strange room. She learns that she is at Tregannon House, a mental asylum. The doctor tells her that she admitted herself the night before under the name Lucy Ashton but then had a violent seizure. But this can’t be right, her name is Georgina Ferrars. But when the doctor brings her the belongings she brought with her, everything has LA on it even though none of it is familiar to Georgina. Georgina convinces the doctor to send a message to her uncle, her only surviving relative to confirm her identity. But the reply comes back that Georgina is safe at home and that Georgina/Lucy is an imposter.

Then her voluntary admittance becomes involuntary. Clearly something is wrong with Georgina and she needs to be treated. While still insisting that she is not Lucy, Georgina finds some letters and a diary in her belongings. This starts the flashbacks and jumps to explain what is going on. But things are still murky. Then we start the mad pace to the end with a surprise, twist ending.

I was really curious about how this book would go, but I had a hard time trying to get into it. I was curious about Georgina and what could be the reason behind the story. When she finds the letters and diary I was hoping that this would clear things up but it just got worse. They jumped around all over the place and I was completely lost.

This was an interesting story but I will admit that it just wasn’t one that I liked. It’s not bad and I do see a lot of other people really liked it. I think this is one of those books that you either really like or don’t. I think if you really like the gothic thrillers this would be the book for you.

To purchase The Asylum or for more information be sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

I received this book for free a long time ago in exchange for an honest review.

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